Enemy Planes fly to Barcelona for final round of international rock competition

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Minneapolis synth rockers Enemy Planes advanced to the final round of Hard Rock Rising, an international rock band competition. The group is flying to Barcelona for the live band championship on Thursday, July 23.

More than 13,000 bands entered the competition with an A-list of judges: the E Street Band’s Steven Van Zandt, Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie, and Poison frontman Bret Michaels. After multiple worldwide qualifying rounds, six groups remain. This weekend the winner will perform on the main stage at the inaugural Hard Rock Rising Barcelona festival, which features Kings of Leon, Avicii and Lenny Kravitz. A potential development deal with Island Records is also up for grabs.

Since forming in 2012, Enemy Planes have performed at SXSW and Summerfest, opened for The Hold Steady and toured with the Meat Puppets. The group’s debut album, Beta Lowdown, is expected out soon from Rock the Cause Records with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit that works to revitalize school music programs.

Watch the band’s first single release, “We Want Blood,” filmed by Tobias Stretch on Coney Island just after Hurricane Sandy.